A dry etching is performed using a mask made of a tantalum or a tantalum nitride under a reaction gas of a carbon monoxide with an additive of a nitrogen containing compound gas.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A microfabrication method, comprising: first forming a resist pattern on a cobalt-platinum alloy layer to be etched; forming a patterned tantalum mask on said cobalt-platinum alloy comprising sputtering a tantalum mask layer using a tantalum target; and reactive dry etching said cobalt-platinum alloy layer using said tantalum mask, under a first reaction gas comprising carbon monoxide and a nitrogen containing gas, wherein said cobalt-platinum alloy layer is selectively etched.
2. The method of claim 1 , said sputtering comprising sputtering under a gas comprising argon.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: after said sputtering, removing from said cobalt-platinum alloy layer, said resist pattern having said mask layer deposited thereon, to form a patterned mask.
4. A microfabrication method, comprising: first forming a resist pattern on a cobalt-platinum alloy layer to be etched; forming a patterned tantalum nitride mask on said cobalt-platinum alloy layer comprising reactive-sputtering a tantalum nitride mask layer using a tantalum target under a second reaction gas comprising at least a nitrogen containing gas; and reactive dry etching said cobalt-platinum alloy layer using said tantalum nitride mask, under a first reaction gas comprising carbon monoxide and a nitrogen containing gas, wherein said cobalt-platinum alloy layer is selectively etched.
5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising: after said sputtering, removing from said cobalt-platinum alloy layer, said resist pattern having said mask layer deposited thereon, to form a patterned mask.
6. A microfabrication method, comprising: first forming a resist pattern on a cobalt-platinum alloy layer; forming a patterned tantalum nitride mask on said cobalt-platinum alloy layer to be etched comprising sputtering a tantalum nitride mask layer using a tantalum nitride target; and reactive dry etching said cobalt-platinum alloy layer using said tantalum nitride mask, under a first reaction gas comprising carbon monoxide and a nitrogen containing gas, wherein said cobalt-platinum alloy layer is selectively etched.
7. The method of claim 6 , said sputtering comprising sputtering under a gas comprising argon.
8. The method of claim 6 , further comprising: after said sputtering, removing from said cobalt-platinum alloy layer, said resist pattern having said mask layer deposited thereon, to form a patterned mask.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
March 26, 2001
November 23, 2004
Browse 5M+ US patents with plain-English claim translations and AI-generated analysis.